It's the last week we will be able to delve into the matchups that make an NFL season so fun. This was far and away the most difficult year to pick games, based on all the mediocrity and disproportionate amount of injuries in the league. This weekend's games will not be any easier to pick, as we have a couple of teams with little to play for (Seahawks and Redskins), while other organizations will do their best to manage injury concerns as they cruise into the postseason.

Will the Texans bring home the AFC South crown? How about the Broncos and Chiefs in the AFC West? The answers to those questions and more can be found below, with some fun facts and history thrown in. As for the rest, your thoughts are welcome: @HarrisonNFL is the place.

Now, let's get to it!

Elliot Harrison went 9-7 on his predictions for Week 16, giving him a record of 143-97 so far this season. How will he fare in Week 17? His picks are below.

Playoff implications: If the
Jets win, they are in. The only question will be whether they are the fifth or sixth seed. If Todd Bowles' group does finish in the sixth spot, and the
Patriots secure home-field, then we could be looking at a potential
Jets-
Patriots divisional round showdown. The last postseason game New York won came at New England following the 2010 season, when the
Patriots were the No. 1 seed. #Rex
#NYJvsBUF

Playoff implications: Win here and the
Patriots will secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They've already secured a bye for the sixth straight postseason, an amazing feat in this salary-cap era.
#NEvsMIA

Sunday1 PM ETFOX3427

Key matchup: Atlanta's
Julio Jones and
Roddy White versus New Orleans'
Delvin Breaux and
Brandon Browner. If Breaux locks up on Jones with safety help over the top, can White beat Browner, as nearly everyone else has? Browner has 23 penalties on the season, much of those coming because of his speed disadvantage. But the 34-year-old White isn't burning anyone at this stage of his career. Breaux produced
a huge interception in
last week's win ... Broseph.

Key matchup: Detroit's offensive line versus Chicago's front seven. Can
Matthew Stafford keep up his vastly improved play? The
Lions quarterback will need time, and he'll need a ground game that doesn't average three yards and a cloud of mud. Detroit's last six games: a much better 4.2 yards per rush.

Historical symmetry: You always hear about the
Packers-
Bears rivalry, but did you know the
Lions and
Bears have been locking up since 1934 (when the
Lions moved to Detroit)? Previously, the
Lions were the Portsmouth Spartans. In 1932, these two franchises played
the first postseason game in NFL history, which is also, thus far, the
only postseason game in this long-standing series. The Spartans and
Bears finished that season tied for first place, and a blizzard forced the ensuing tiebreaker game to be held at Chicago Stadium -- the indoor home of the Chicago Blackhawks. The popularity and coverage of the unofficial '32 championship game led league owners to institute a
real NFL title game in 1933.
#DETvsCHI

Sunday1 PM ETFOX2924

Key matchup: The
Eagles versus an emotional uprising.
Odell Beckham, Jr. is back. Speculation regarding Tom Coughlin's future will hang in the air. Will the
Giants do the opposite of what the
Eagles seemed to do this season -- that is, play for their coach? While we're at it, how will Philly's players respond under interim coach Pat Shurmur, with
Chip Kelly now gone? No strategic matchup should affect the outcome more than the emotional underbelly of this NFC East rivalry.

Historical symmetry: This isn't the first time in this long-standing series that a
Super Bowl-winning coach was rumored to be retiring while another controversial front man was on his way out. Go back 25 years, and you have the storyline of Bill Parcells and Buddy Ryan. When they faced off for the last time in 1990, Parcells' previously undefeated
Giants (10-0) took it on the chin against Ryan's
Eagles defense, losing 31-13. But Parcells would have the last laugh when Scott Norwood's field goal
sailed wide right two months later, giving Parcells his second ring. Ryan, meanwhile, was fired after Philadelphia lost a wild-card matchup with the
Redskins. #SBXXV
#PHIvsNYG

Sunday1 PM ETFOX1714

Key matchup: Complacency versus resignation. Washington cannot move from the cleanup spot in the NFC playoff tournament. They will host the No. 5 seed (potentially the
Seahawks) no matter what. Will the
Cowboys show up against their NFC East rivals with only the 2016 draft order on the line? Dallas is assured a top-eight pick, but the
Cowboys could move as far up as second overall.

Historical symmetry: The
Redskins and
Cowboys have linked up on the final game of the regular season many times, sometimes even with playoff spots on the line. But only twice have they met with the winner taking the NFC East. The last time was in 2012, when
Robert Griffin III and a pesky defense beat Dallas in D.C. The other was in 1979. Roger Staubach, playing in his final regular-season game, threw two touchdowns in the final three minutes to beat the
Redskins at Texas Stadium.
#WASvsDAL

Sunday1 PM ETCBS2417

Key matchup: Easy pickins', here -- though hopefully not for whoever starts for the
Colts, which, it looks like,
could be Josh Freeman, Ryan Lindley or Stephen Morris. Can either the former Buccaneer, former Cardinal or former Miami Hurricane make hay against a Tennessee defense that has allowed 34 points per game over the last four contests?

Key matchup: Which young, inexperienced quarterback will blink first? Cincinnati's
AJ McCarron fared admirably
Monday night, especially considering he was facing the
Broncos' No. 1-ranked defense at their place. Can
Ryan Mallett put on a clinic on the road against the
Bengals' D?

Playoff implications: The
Bengals can earn a first-round bye with a win over the
Ravens and a
Broncos loss to the
Chargers. That is huge, considering that's something they've never secured in the Marvin Lewis era. All six of Lewis' previous playoff appearances with Cincinnati have ended in wild-card round defeats.
#BALvsCIN

Key matchup: Houston's secondary versus the Allen boys. The
Texans' DBs have performed well of late, but you can't ignore what Robinson and Hurns are doing. Even in
last week's loss at New Orleans, the two wideouts combined for 14 catches, 258 yards and three touchdowns.

Relevant stat: Houston has gone as far as the defensive backfield has allowed it to. During the
wins of this 6-2 run, the
Texans have allowed opposing passers a sub-70 passer rating. The two losses? 124.4
#JAXvsHOU

Key matchup: Denver versus the inevitable Week 17 trap game. It seems every year, a team loses a contest like this. Last year, the
Falcons hosted the 6-8-1
Panthers with the NFC South on the line and
got hammered, 34-3. Granted, that Carolina team was much better than this
Chargers outfit, but you never know. In fact, San Diego had a playoff spot on the line last year against the
Chiefs in Week 17, only to
lay an egg in an ugly loss. It happens.

Relevant stat: You know Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will dial up pressure on
Philip Rivers. Careful, as Rivers isn't exactly
AJ McCarron. The veteran
Chargers quarterback has posted a 100.8 passer rating, with nine touchdowns and two interceptions, versus the blitz this season. Of course,
against the Broncos in December, Rivers was 1-of-7 with a pick against some well-timed blitzes ... and a passer rating of 0.0.
#SDvsDEN

Sunday4:25 PM ETFOX3422

Key matchup: Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Shula versus a Bucs defense that has struggled in three straight losses. The
Panthers' passing "attack" looked certifiably anemic in
last week's loss in Atlanta.
Cam Newton and Co. produced all of 113 net passing yards. On the offense's final snap, protection broke down, leading to Newton
being stripped. On that subject, how much does Shula want Newton carrying the ball? His MVP candidate QB scored a rushing touchdown against the
Falcons, but he also took some big shots. He's not exactly one to protect himself. Better to have your quarterback upright on the road in the NFC Championship Game than not upright at all.

Playoff implications: Arizona can secure home-field throughout the playoffs with a win over the
Seahawks and a
Panthers loss. The
Seahawks aren't really playing for anything. At best, they can take the fifth seed. They'll be traveling to either Washington, Green Bay or Minnesota.
#SEAvsAZ

Sunday4:25 PM ETCBS2314

Key matchup:Case Keenum and the
Rams' passing game versus the
49ers' secondary. St. Louis has received better than expected play from the former
Texans backup. Can
Kenny Britt, who has touchdowns in two consecutive weeks (
including on Richard Shermanlast week), and
Tavon Austin (who did squat last week) take advantage of a defensive backfield that has allowed opponents 8.11 yards per pass play? That's the second worst mark, ahead of only New Orleans. Being compared to the
Saints' defensive backfield is a fireable offense.

Historical symmetry: It was 20 years ago that
49ers safety Tim McDonald uttered the phrase "same old
Rams," after San Francisco pasted the 5-1 upstart
Rams by five touchdowns in St. Louis. That was the
Rams' first year in Missouri, with that game being played at Busch Stadium.
"Not the 'same old Rams' " would become a mantra for the '99
Super Bowl champs. How time flies.
#STLvsSF

Historical symmetry: Remember this
Week 17 matchup from 2012? The
Vikings were trying to secure a playoff spot -- and
Adrian Peterson had his eyes set on Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set back in 1984. In one of the finest regular-season games of recent vintage, Minnesota won behind nearly 200 yards from Peterson (although he fell short of Dickerson's mark by 8 yards). The
Vikings would lose in the Wild Card Round at Lambeau
the next week, however, when
Joe Webb was forced to start in place of an injured
Christian Ponder.
#MINvsGB